FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT UNIVERSITY STATUS - PAGE 2

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission is expected to hand over its review report on deemed universities to the government by August 28. In the mean time the ministry of human resource development has also set up its own committee of academic experts to review the functioning of deemed to be universities. The UGC, which was asked by the ministry to undertake this probe on June 4, was given three months to complete its review. A five stage procedure has been set out for this review.

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is on the verge of becoming a deemed university. Minister of state for science and technology Kapil Sibal said, "The decision has already been taken and it is only a matter of time before the idea becomes functional. " According to him, the issue of infrastructure, important before the UGC confers deemed university status on the CSIR, will now be sorted out.UGC chairman Arun Nigavekar said the CSIR has applied for deemed university status, however, it's yet to submit a project proposal.

BHUBANESWAR: The International Institute of Information and Technology (IIIT), Bhubaneswar will soon be accorded unitary university status with the passing of IIIT-Bhubaneswar Bill-2013 in the Odisha Assembly . The Bill, passed last night, has provisions saying that the university will work closely with the government, industry and other users of technology to develop and deliver technological solutions to enhance their service delivery....

HYDERABAD: After marking its footprints all over India, the Rs 143-crore ICFAI University is eyeing the global marketplace. ICFAI is in talks with the Sri Lanka and Bangladesh governments for setting up a full-fledged private university offering technical and management education. While Sri Lanka is likely to permit ICFAI to operate as a foreign university, the Bangladesh government is expected to notify it as a private varsity. ICFAI management board member N J Yasaswy told ET, "we expect both the projects to take off this year".

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet tonight approved takeover of 17 Regional Engineering Colleges in the country as National Institutes of Technology with Deemed to be University status. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said the Centre would fund these institutes fully unlike in the past when the Centre bore 65 per cent of the cost. This involves an additional liability of Rs 70 crore annually on the exchequer under non-Plan head with an annual increase of ten per cent for a period of five years from 2002-03 onwards, she said.

NEW DELHI: Tightening its noose on deemed universities indulging in irregular practices, the UGC is likely to frame stricter norms to regulate their fee structure and admissions. The UGC had set up a committee under Pondichhery University Vice Chancellor Prof J A K Tareen for regulation of fee structure and admission in these institutions. The committee has suggested that the deemed universities cannot take students without any entrance. They will give admission to students by conducting their own entrance test or these institutes can form an apex consortium which will conduct a national level test for selection of students.

The government's decision to withdraw recognition of as many as 44 deemed or autonomous universities suggests it is, at last, getting serious about cleaning up the mess in higher education. The 44 deemed universities, identified by a committee set up under the chairmanship of Dr P N Tandon, suffer from a host of ills, ranging from family rather than professional management to arbitrariness in admission and levy of exorbitant fees. Even assuming there will be no legal challenges and government will be able to close these universities, given the extent of rot in the system ?

PUNE: Reliance School of Life Sciences (RSLS), part of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Life Sciences (RLS), has applied for a deemed university status. The institute has enrolled about 300 employees of Reliance Life Sciences as part of a competency development programme while 15 candidates have made it for a diploma programme which is open to the public. "The number of candidates has to be seen in the context of RSLS being in existence for just over a year.

NEW DELHI: Deemed universities may not have a free run in admissions with the University Grants Commission (UGC) stipulating more stringent regulations for the purpose. According to the draft regulations, universities can admit students only through an all-India entrance examination. An expert committee set up by UGC has prepared a draft of UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2007, which lays guidelines for establishment, admission, fee and other operational mechanism of the deemed universities.

After spreading its net across India, with operations in 15 states, ICFAI University is now eyeing the global market starting with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Talks are on with the governments of the two countries to set up a full-fledged private university offering technical and management education. While Sri Lanka is likely to permit ICFAI to operate as a foreign university, the Bangladesh government is expected to notify it as a private varsity. Both projects are expected to take off this year.